A very big thank you to the kind donation from Plowman Craven who have supported the Batford Springs Volunteers for the past couple of years. We will be putting their money to good use purchasing new equipment to maintain the reserve.

Larks in the Parks is coming to Batford Springs Local Nature Reserve on Sunday 30th June 2013. There will be craft stalls, the duck race on the river to the ford and lots of activities for you to try. Visit the Batford Community Action Group website for more details.

You may have noticed a lot of activity lately! This is all down to the extremely helpful following volunteer groups who have given up their time to help us. A very big thank you to the Environment Agency, the students of the University of Hertfordshire, the following Scout troops from Harpenden, the 3rd, 4th, 9th and 10th. They have helped by picking up litter, chopping dead wood, digging up bramble roots, removing excess water cress from the chalk streams, clearing the nettles from the Lower Luton Road side and at the top of the meadow.

Improvements to watch out for: We are clearing the rank vegetation from the bottom of the ancient meadow, once the meadow used to run all the way down to the chalk stream but now invasive species such as hogweed and white poplars are creating a border and creeping through the meadow. In time, we wish to reseed the meadow with a mix of native flowers. We are going to trial a section by the hedge, you may have seen the 'markers' and a sign, let us know what you think. We were successful in winning a financial award from BIFFA. This will enable us to dredge the damp woodland pond where the original watercress farm was operating and return it to a viable pond for wildlife. We will also be repairing the bank leaks from the River Lea, the river water flows into and contaminates the chalk stream water. The last task will be creating channels through the reed bed in the big pond by the picnic benches. This will encourage a breeding habitat for the waterfowl.

Scout visits

We have had fantastic help from the 4th and 10th Harpenden Scouts. Both troops were clearing the nettles and undergrowth from Gibraltar Grove. Eventually, this area will be seeded with a suitable grass and flower mix.

2012 Flora Survey

To view the flora survey of the Reserve conducted for us by Ian Denholm, click here

Outputs from Environmental Adviser Meet, 23.09.2011

To obtain a copy of the outputs from the Environmental Advisers; meet held on 23rd September 2011, click here